This invention relates to a system for exhausting noxious odors or vapors from a toilet or the bathroom in which the toilet is housed or both.
Modern building codes require that rooms housing toilets be provided with an exhaust system vented to the atmosphere. This is especially so when the room is a small one not having any opening in the exterior wall, such as a window that can be opened to allow fresh air to enter the room. It has been long recognized that the strongest source of noxious odors or vapors occurs at the toilet seat when the same is occupied by a person.
In the past a number of systems have been proposed for the elimination or reduction of the noxious vapors emanating from the toilet and the room in which the toilet is housed. Many of the systems involve modifications to the toilet seat to accommodate odor exhaust devices. Examples of such modified seats are disclosed in Stephens et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,175,293; Lindley U.S. Pat. No. 4,556,999; and Stamper et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,600,724.
In order for an odor exhaust device to function, a bathroom must have a source of suction or vacuum. Most building codes require an exhaust system including an exhaust fan located in the ceiling or wall of the room in which the toilet is housed.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a bathroom exhaust system that will meet building code requirements while at the same time being wholly functional to evacuate noxious vapors at the strongest source, that is, at the toilet seat and also from the room in which the toilet is located.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a bathroom exhaust system readily adaptable to new building construction or the renovation or modification of existing structures.
These and other objects of the invention will be apparent from the following disclosure of preferred embodiments of the invention.